The elevator dinged as it reached the second floor.“Second floor,” a disembodied lady’s voice said.
“That’s really creepy,” Polo muttered.
“You should hear her say ‘lobby,’ ” Butterbean said. “Gets me every time.”
The doors opened.
“You know what to do!” Polo shrieked, throwing herself in front of the elevator door. Butterbean had said that her rat-sized body should be enough to keep the door from closing, but until they tested it, they couldn’t be sure. And now that Polo thought about it, getting squished in the elevator door was something else that would give her nightmares.
Butterbean raced out of the elevator and then ran up and down the hallway, pausing only to sniff under each door.
“Biscuit!” she yelled at the first door. “Teacher Man!” she yelled at the second. “Too Many Kids!” she yelled at the third. “Old Mothball Lady!” she yelled at the fourth. “All clear.”
“Great!” Polo said, bracing herself against the elevator door. “Now hurry! This thing is trying to move!”
Butterbean rushed back into the elevator, skidding into the wall just as Polo leaped inside and let the door slide shut.
“We’re like superheroes! This is so fun!” Butterbean panted, her tongue hanging out of the side of her mouth.
“Yeah, well, I hope you keep feeling that way, because we’ve got seven more floors to go. Get ready!”
Butterbean took her position in front of the door and shot out of the elevator as the doors opened, quickly making the circuit.“Mrs. Third Floor! Man With Stinky Sweat Socks! Perfume Lady! Lots of Cats!” She yelled at each apartment before turning and skidding back into the elevator. “We’re awesome! We could do this professionally.”
Polo suppressed a grin.“We are pretty great, huh? Okay, get ready for the next flooooor!” she yelled, diving into the gap to hold the elevator door. Plan B was looking like a winner. Oscar was going to be so surprised when he found out.
Oscar was already surprised. At that moment he was doing some pretty serious stress plucking of his under feathers and trying not to fly off the handle (literally).“WHAT ARE THEY DOING!” he screamed. “What’s HAPPENING!”
The lobby was in an uproar. The last they’d seen of Polo and Butterbean was when Polo did a mad dash into the elevator and Butterbean looked like she’d gone crazy, racing around the lobby and then disappearing into the elevator just as the doors closed.
The girl had been knocked off her feet when Butterbean raced in between her legs, and she’d spent a few minutes gesturing wildly at the doorman before racing to a door at the end of the lobby, opening it, and disappearing.
“The stairway,” Walt said softly.
The doorman had looked concerned for a few minutes, until a lady with a big hat came in. Then he seemed to go back to his usual self, smiling and holding the door like nothing had happened.
“Wow, did you see that?” Marco bobbed up and down nervously. “Maybe they’ve gone CRAZY! Or maybe they’re found the coins and they’re cutting us out of the loop! Oh man, it’s just like a real action movie! We’ve been double-crossed! They’ve gone ROGUE!” He hugged his rat-head corn in excitement. “Isn’t it awesome?”
“We haven’t been double-crossed. It’ll be fine,” Walt said slowly. “I think.”
“Wait, what’s that?” They could hear the sound of the elevator dinging in the hallway, followed by the sound of frantic barking.
“That’s Butterbean,” Oscar said, flying to front door and hovering awkwardly. He’d never been good at using the peephole.
“That Workout Lady Who Gives Me Snacks! The Airplane Man Who’s Never Home! The Guy Who Smokes Cigars. Us! Hi, guys, be back in a sec!” Butterbean barked at the doorway. Then they heard the elevator doors close. There was silence.
“So it sounds like there’s a new plan?” Walt said, ears back and eyes wide.
“Those two are going to ruin everything,” Oscar groaned as he dropped back to the floor.
Butterbean slumped in the back of the elevator and waited for the doors to open. Polo leaned against the wall next to the door. They weren’t having so much fun anymore.
Butterbean had done the circuit over and over, sniffing every apartment on every floor, and so far they hadn’t even gotten one whiff of the Coin Man.
“Just two floors left, Bean,” Polo said, watching the numbers.
“I know,” Butterbean said.
“And you’re sure you haven’t smelled him?”
“I’m sure.” Butterbean hadn’t smelled anything like the Coin Man smell. She was starting to think she’d imagined him. Maybe he didn’t even live in the building. He could’ve been visiting. He could’ve dropped the coin in the lobby, gone away, and never come back.
The door opened, and Butterbean trudged out into the hallway while Polo flopped over to block the door. Around the sixth floor she’d realized she didn’t have to actually hold the door closed. Lying in front of the sensor worked just as well.
“Patchouli Family. Biscuit. Empty apartment. No, wait—not empty. Pencils? Pretzels? Anyway, not him.” Butterbean headed for the last door and took a sniff. “Nope. Axe Body Spray and fish.” She didn’t even feel like explaining what she’d sniffed anymore. It all seemed so pointless now.And they didn’t have a Plan C.
“Okay, one last chance,” Polo said, scooting back into the elevator after Butterbean had returned. “If he’s not on the top floor, he’s not here.”
“I know,” Butterbean said quietly.
“So,” Polo said after a second. “Haircut Biscuit?”
“Different Biscuit.”
They didn’t say anything else as the elevator climbed to the top floor.
The doors opened.
Butterbean gave Polo a mournful glance as she plodded into the hallway. The top floor wasn’t like the other floors. There were only two apartment doors. Butterbean sniffed the first one. “Nope. Furniture polish and incense.”
Butterbean turned and looked at the last apartment. Then, taking a deep breath, she marched down the hall.
“Just smell it,” Polo said from the elevator.
Butterbean stuck her nose under the door as far as it would go, and then she took a big sniff.
Her head shot up. She looked back at Polo.“I think…”
She took another sniff under the door.“Polo. Polo. I think…”
The door to the stairway burst open and Madison lurched into the hallway, red faced and panting.“There you are! What did you do that for, you crazy dog?”
She dropped to her knees and hugged Butterbean tightly.“I was so worried about you!”
Butterbean, caught tight in Madison’s hug, raised her eyebrows at Polo, who shrugged. Butterbean licked the girl across the forehead.
“We have to get you home, okay?” Madison reached down and examined Butterbean’s collar and leash. “How did you get it all twisted like that?”
She had just gotten the leash untangled when the apartment door jerked open.
A tall man with icy blue eyes stared down at them.
Madison’s grip on Butterbean tightened. “Oh, um. Hi. I’m sorry. I just… see, the dog… she got in the elevator…” Madison stammered, gesturing back toward the elevator. Polo pressed herself against the elevator door, hoping the man wouldn’t notice her. She shouldn’t have worried. He never took his eyes off Madison. And he didn’t say a word.
Polo shivered. There was something about his eyes. She was glad he wasn’t looking at her.
Madison scrambled to her feet.“So anyway. Sorry to disturb you.” She twisted the leash around her hand as she took a step back.
“You should go,” the man said, his face stony. “Now.”
“Yes, sir,” Madison said, backing away toward the elevator. “Leaving. Right now.”
She bolted through the open elevator door and jabbed the fourth-floor button, holding her breath until the door had shut.
“I didn’t like that guy,” Polo said quietly as she crawled into position under Butterbean’s tummy.